Antes de salir, revisa el mapa para encontrar la mejor ruta.

Because antes de is the fixed pattern when it is followed by a noun or an infinitive.

• antes de salir = before leaving / before you leave
• antes de la clase = before class

That de is required here. In Spanish, antes salir would sound incorrect.

A useful rule:

• antes de + infinitive when the subject stays the same or is understood generally
• antes de que + conjugated verb when you need a new subject

For example:

• Antes de salir, revisa el mapa. = Before leaving, check the map.
• Antes de que salgas, revisa el mapa. = Before you leave, check the map.

Both can work, but antes de + infinitive is very common and compact.

After antes de, Spanish often uses the infinitive to express an action in a general or non-conjugated way.

So:

• antes de salir = before leaving / before going out

The infinitive is similar to English leaving or to leave, depending on the context.

You do not need a conjugated verb there because the sentence is not focusing on who leaves in a separate clause. It is just presenting the action itself.

Yes. Revisa is the affirmative tú command of revisar.

So the sentence is telling someone directly:

• Revisa el mapa = Check the map

This is a very common way to give instructions, advice, or directions in Spanish.

Compare:

• revisas = you check / you are checking
• revisa = check!

Because revise is the form for:

• the usted command, or
• the present subjunctive

For a direct, informal command to tú, the correct form is:

• revisa

Examples:

• Tú: Revisa el mapa.
• Usted: Revise el mapa.

So if you are speaking casually to one person, revisa is the expected form.

It is omitted. Spanish often leaves out subject pronouns when the verb form already makes the subject clear.

Here, revisa tells us the subject is an understood tú:

• (Tú) revisa el mapa

Spanish does this all the time:

• Come. = Eat.
• Mira. = Look.
• Revisa el mapa. = Check the map.

So the sentence still clearly means that you are the person being addressed.

Para + infinitive is used to express purpose or goal.

So:

• para encontrar la mejor ruta = in order to find the best route

This tells you why you should check the map.

A simple rule:

• para + infinitive = to / in order to

Examples:

• Estudio para aprender. = I study to learn.
• Abre la app para buscar la dirección. = Open the app to look up the address.

Spanish uses articles more often than English does.

• el mapa = the map
• la mejor ruta = the best route

In English, we sometimes drop articles in instructional language, but Spanish often keeps them.

Also, la mejor ruta uses the definite article because it means the best route, not just a better route.

Notice something interesting:

• mapa looks feminine because it ends in -a, but it is actually masculine in standard Spanish:
  • el mapa
  • un mapa

This is a word you simply need to memorize.

Because not all Spanish nouns follow the usual ending pattern.

While many nouns ending in -a are feminine, mapa is one of several masculine nouns of Greek origin that take masculine articles:

• el mapa
• el problema
• el sistema
• el programa

So even though it ends in -a, you say:

• el mapa
• un mapa

not

• la mapa

Ruta usually means route: the path or way to get somewhere, especially when choosing between possible options.

• la mejor ruta = the best route

Related words:

• camino = path, road, way; can be more physical or more general
• dirección = address or direction, depending on context

In a sentence about checking a map, ruta is a very natural choice because maps are often used to plan the best route.

Because Antes de salir is an introductory phrase.

Spanish often uses a comma after introductory elements, especially when they come at the beginning of the sentence:

• Antes de salir, revisa el mapa.
• Después de comer, salimos.

This helps separate the setup from the main action. In short sentences, punctuation can sometimes vary a little, but the comma here is very normal and clear.

Yes. That version is also correct.

• Antes de salir, revisa el mapa.
• Antes de que salgas, revisa el mapa.

The difference is mostly structural:

1. antes de + infinitive

   • more compact
   • very common when the subject is the same or understood

2. antes de que + subjunctive

   • uses a full clause
   • often chosen when the subject needs to be stated or emphasized

Here, both versions can mean essentially the same thing:

• Before leaving, check the map.
• Before you leave, check the map.

It can suggest either one depending on context.

Salir commonly means:

• to leave
• to go out
• to head out

In this sentence, the idea is probably:

• Before leaving / before heading out, check the map

If the situation is about travel or navigation, leave or head out is usually the best fit.

The main change would be the command form of revisar.

• tú: Antes de salir, revisa el mapa...
• usted: Antes de salir, revise el mapa...
• ustedes: Antes de salir, revisen el mapa...

Everything else can stay the same.

So the sentence adapts depending on who you are addressing:

• informal singular: revisa
• formal singular: revise
• plural: revisen